By Lori Reisenbichler
On the night that Shelly Buckner finally became a mother, she very nearly became a widow. Her husband, Eric, seriously injured in a car accident on the way to the hospital, was dead for a full eight minutes before being revived all while Shelly was in labor. Those eight minutes changed everything Shelly thought was possible.
Three years later, their son, Toby, brings home an imaginary friend. But he s no ordinary playmate John Robberson is a fighter pilot and Vietnam vet. As Toby provides unlikely details about John s life and Toby s tantrums increase Shelly becomes convinced that John was real and now wants something from Toby. But her husband has his doubts, and as Shelly becomes involved, even obsessed, with finding out the truth, their marriage begins to disintegrate. Torn between protecting her child and keeping the peace with her husband, Shelly desperately searches for a way to finally put John Robberson out of their lives.
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I received this and Under Dark Skies around the same time. I was more hesitant about this book, not positive it would be my thing. As a rule, I’m not super interested in chick lit and the way the dissection of a relationship becomes the subject of the book. But I gave it a try anyway. There was that pressing question: who is John Robberson?
It’s safe to say I gobbled this book up. I probably set a new speed reading record reading this one.
Right away, we’re dropped into the mystery of the eight minutes and John Robberson. And the pace never slows down. Shelley’s quest to solve the mystery is unfolded page after page, without any lulls or dead time.
The book really is focused on only four central characters, a feat it pulls off beautifully. We never grow bored with Shelley, Eric, Toby, or John and breathlessly take this trip with them.
Which is also remarkable considering our POV character, Shelley, is a stay at home mom. So the setting is rather stationary. This book also made me think that there’s not many books who tell a story from the prospective of a stay at home parent.
This was a great read and I highly recommend it.
